The property arm of RBS has submitted a planning application for a new £40 million office tower in Birmingham’s business district.

West Register hopes to create 263,150 sq ft of office space on 2 Cornwall Street in the Colmore Business District. It took over the building close to Snowhill Station in April last year when it bought the long leasehold from Irish developer Ballymore. West Register is understood to have paid Ballymore £7 million for the 110,781 sq ft vacant office, which was home to KPMG.

Ballymore bought the property in 2006 for £26.4 million after borrowing in excess of £20 million from RBS.

GVA has now lodged outline plans with Birmingham City Council drawn up by Associated Architects for a majority demolition of the building and 13 storey tower with up to 6,250 sq ft of retail at ground floor level.

CGI of the new tower proposed for Cornwall Street

The national property consultancy said the plans would deliver a direct investment of £40 million from the project cost and create around 250 construction jobs.

The building would help address a chronic lack of supply of Grade A space in Birmingham city centre, GVA said.

“GVA estimates that the current supply of Grade A space is equivalent to approximately three years’ average annual take-up,” it said.

“With no prospect of their being an increase in supply in the foreseeable future, the city could experience a supply/demand imbalance as soon as 2015.”